And if anyone has experience.. I would still like to stick around for a while with CRTs.. and will most likely place my order on Samsung SyncMaster 1100MB Flat CRT ? As I have understood, this model is supposed to be specifically for graphics and photo work... Can anyone with experience confirm that the money would be safely spent?!

I've read the NEC 2070NX has an S-IPS panel which is in the Apple Cinema Display. It was recommended in a few posts for those who couldn't afford the more expensive SpectraView models.

From what I've picked up the on web reading reviews on sub$800 LCD's is that manufacturer's specs seem to change at a moment's notice so buy from a vendor with a liberal return policy if your particular model can't be calibrated to a useable state for photo editing.

I wasn't going to post here, but I think this is important information for anyone doing graphics work before they by an LCD monitor. The S-IPS panel "type" is the best you can buy for color and angle of view, which in our business is critical. The only problem with these panels has, and I say has because they are no longer a problem, slow black to black speed, which shows ghosting when playing movies or gaming and a low contrast ratio--200 were the introductory panels. This is no longer the case.

See below for information links.

I bought a LG Phillips 23" S-IPS panel last year (230wp7ns) that has 700:1 contrast and an 12 MS black to black speed, and I see no ghosting playing FPS games like Counter Strike or when playing movies and in a very dimly lit room, I see black as solid black--no gray.

However, the drawback to owning one of these models in the 23" size set me back 1200.00USD. I see they are now around 900.00USD. It's a beautiful monitor that can be rotated to portrait view also, and it had not one dead pixel in it. Resolution is 1900 x 1200, which means you get two entire pages of word on screen, and you can virtually do away with a dual monitor set up if you are running 1024 x 768 monitors. You get almost two 1000w resolution monitors in one.

You'll have to really dig to find specification on the Phillips site. There have been topics on this in forums that I remember regarding "Where is this monitor!?!? Phillips didn;t market it well and when you go to its site and click on PC products>LCD monitors, they only show up to 21" monitors, and the 230WP7NS/00 isn't even there. You can find it though. Try this page:

Also, don't listen to the reviews that were done when the first of these monitors came out--they are good, but say things like the DVD playback is horrible--What? It's PERFECT on mine, but I bought it in 2006, which is the newer S-IPS panel and not the IPS they first came out with in 2004.

Reviews are almost nonexistent due to Phillips not marketing this panel to the general public.

INFORMATION LINKS:

If you want to know exactly what type of panel your choice has, you can go here and type in the exact model number, and you will get the exact panel it has in it. Only a few manufacturers make panels, which are used by many companies-like Phillips:http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php

(Below is an excerpt from the above website, which explaines in clear verbiage the difference between panel types.)

The IPS technology has always been better than TN+Film in terms of color reproduction and viewing angles. In fact, S-IPS matrices leave no chance to other LCD technologies in the color-reproduction quality. They have soft and pleasant colors, which are natural and close to high-quality CRT monitors. Thatís why nearly all LCD monitors for professional work with color are based on S-IPS matrices, starting from relatively inexpensive to hi-end models of the Eizo ColorEdge series with integrated tools for custom hardware color-calibration.

The viewing angles are a treat after TN matrices: you canít notice any distortions of the image, sitting in front of an IPS matrix. Thereís only one specific defect Ė when youíre looking at the screen from a side, black color acquires a characteristic violet hue (by the way, this defect allows telling an IPS matrix from any other), but the manufacturers are improving on this. In most cases, this is an insignificant defect anyway. Viewing angles are wider than PVA and MVA even and are signified by their listed specs commonly of 178/178 instead of 176/176. Only a guide on paper, but in reality, viewing angles are better on S-IPS based screens.

The only real problem of the S-IPS technology traditionally was the low contrast ratio (about 200:1, like that of an average TN+Film matrix). In means you see a dark gray instead of pure black. Thatís not noticeable at daylight, but if youíre working in a dimly lit room, you may be disappointed at the highlighting of the black color (coupled with the characteristic violet hue when youíre viewing the screen from a side). Black depth was often a problem with S-IPS panels. However, contrast ratios have been improved significantly, and black depth is much better as a result. Whether or not black depth is as good as PVA / MVA panels is debatable, but technologies like Digital Fine Contrast DFC are helping to make blacks better as well. One area which remains problematic for modern IPS panels is movie playback, again with noise being present, and only accentuated by the heavy application of overdrive technologies.

I recently purchased a NECWMGX2,and I'm extremely happy with it.I do mostly photoshop editing ,and I feel the extra space helps out a lot.For the past 7 years,I've been using a dell 17in.flat screen crt{P780},and i was reluctant to switch over to a LCD.......now ,I'm glad I did. The panel choice is important,try and go with a S-IPS panel if you can,,some of the more experienced members have posted reviews/opinions on this type of panel.Also,check out www.nm-select.com,it's a division of NEC,you can sometimes find a really good deal with them,it's where I got mine{$439.00},a refurb with a 1year warranty.Hope this info helps>Mike

Actually LED technology is the best for professional color reproduction in publishing and photography. The Samsung SyncMaster XL20 should be hitting the market this month for a retail price of about $1900. This is the lowest price monitor with LED technology available to date with comparable monitors in the $4000-6000. range.

Actually LED technology is the best for professional color reproduction in publishing and photography. The Samsung SyncMaster XL20 should be hitting the market this month for a retail price of about $1900.

this is way out of my range for now! Thank you anyway, 2070nx on it's way, I will make a review as soon as I have it.